A New Life
by Cdl10933
Summary: After Midna leaves for the twilight realm, destroying the mirror of twilight, Link searches for a calling. Something to fill the whole in his heart, aching for companionship and adventure. (ZeLink)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fanfiction. I grew up on Legend of Zelda games and Twilight Princess has always been one of my favorites. Though the ending left me with many questions. I found myself imagining different scenarios of the time after Midna leaves for the Twilight Realm. A friend recommended I write it into a fanfiction story, so I did.**

 **It's my first story, so excuse any errors. Constructive Criticism is embraced. My google email is Cdl10933. I look forward to hearing from some of you :). This is just the first chapter. I hope to improve my skills as a writer as I go on, so again, any tips are great.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or any of it's characters. Nintendo owns all rights to The Legend of Zelda.**

 **Chapter 1:**

Link rubbed sweat off of his face, looking up at the setting desert sun. As night approached, he spoke the first time since she left.

"It's getting dark, let's camp here for the night."

Zelda looked up, surprised to hear the hero's voice. She understood what link was going through - the hole that was inside his heart. Midna, the Twilight Princess, had just left their world. She returned to the Twilight, destroying any and all access between the two worlds. Zelda could see the sadness in his wonderful blue eyes. It killed her to see him so hurt.

The two set up camp. Zelda had tried to tell him that they can take turns keeping watch, but Link insisted on letting her rest.

"I'm used to going without sleep, anyways. I spent multiple days fighting inside the lakebed temple." He said as he began to build a fire.

She wondered how many dungeons and enemies he had fought. He must have gone through so much. The war with Zant turned him from a farm boy in a small village to the greatest warrior in Hyrule. It dawned on her that he must have been through hell and back.

"How are you feeling, Link"? She asked, attempting to break the silence."You've hardly spoken."

Link sighed. He knew this conversation would come and decided it was futile to try to avoid it.

"I'm hurt," he said simply. "We spent almost a year together, her beside me every day. At first, she annoyed the hell out of me, but she later was great to have around. Midna was a wonderful companion."

Zelda nodded. "I'm sorry, I know you loved her."

"I did," Link said in agreement. He looked up to see her facial expression and quickly corrected her thoughts. "Not in the way you think, she was a great friend, and I would never trade the time we had together, but I don't Love her like that."

Zelda's heart leaped a little. She turned her head, hoping to hide her slight hope she gained from his response. She couldn't help but be attracted to him. His appearance was excellent, the long blond hair and bright blue eyes. The muscles that showed through his clothes. Any girl in Hyrule would be lucky to be with him. She attempted to push away her feelings, it was not possible. He was a commoner and she was a princess. Nobody would allow any relationship between the two.

"Where will you go now?" She asked, attempting to change the subject.

He sat in silence, thinking about his response. "I will go to Ordon, but I doubt I will stay. That's not my life anymore, I won't be able to stand how boring it would be. I don't know what I will do. Travel maybe, explore lands untouched by Hyrule border."

"Well, whatever your decision, just remember, you are always welcome at Hyrule castle, whether it's to stay for a visit, or in need of work. Whatever you need, let me know."

He performed a slight bow, "Thank you, princess."

Zelda nodded. "I will retire now, goodnight, Link."

"Goodnight, your highness." Link responded, watching her go. He found a nice spot to sit by the fire and looked up at the stars, enjoying them until the sun drove them away.

Zelda woke up to the sound of metal on metal. She grabbed her bow, which she slept beside when traveling, and ran out of the tent. She looked to see a pile of Bulblins. Link standing above the final one he had just slain.

"Are you alright?" She asked, with a worried expression.

Link looked at her and laughed a little. "I'm perfectly fine, princess. Though I do appreciate the concern."

"Why were they attacking?" Zelda asked.

"Who knows? The buggars kill anything that moves." Link said while cleaning the master sword on some cloth from a Bulbin. He took great care of the mighty weapon. "It's still early, you can get some more sleep. We're not far from Hyrule."

Zelda shook her head. "No, let's just go. The sooner we get out of this desert, the better."

Link nodded and they went on their way. The journey back to the castle went pretty uneventful. They entered through castle town, which caused much commotion. Everybody was curious about the Hero and Princess. She knew that rumors would swell about the both of them.

When they finally reached to the castle, Link requested some supplies for the journey to Ordon, then went on his way.

"I'm going to miss you, Link." Zelda said to him in private before he departed. She did not know him very well, but they fought Ganondorf together and each was blessed with a piece of the triforce. Zelda felt a connection to him, and she truly would miss him.

Link smiled. "You honor me, Princess. I think I will return here soon." With that, he turned and left. On his way to Ordon.


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Adventure

**Hey, everybody! Here is chapter 2 of this story. I actually named this chapter after figuring out how.**

 **The first chapter and this chapter were rather short (About 1000 words). That's just because I dreaded writing an intro, but now that I'm getting to the part that I've been wanting to write about, it will be longer. Sorry about that :)**

 **Again, please do leave a review. Through this all I wish to improve my skills as a writer. If somebody would also like to be a Beta reader for me, that would be great. I just have to figure out how to assign one xD**

 **The Legend of Zelda and all characters belong to Nintendo.**

Link slid off of Epona's back and walked her across the all too familiar bridge that connected Ordon with the Faron woods. To his left was Ordon spring. He took off his boots and walked into the shallow water. Epona trotted up and ran through the spring as well. She was glad to be home.

After a few minutes, Link and Epona had arrived at his old house. His treehouse looked the same. When inside he began to get to work. Dusting off the shelves, getting everything organized. Link was happy to see his house again.

Suddenly a familiar voice came from outside his home.

"L-Link? Is that you in there?" Colin yelled from below Link's ladder.

The front door swung open and Link hurried down the ladder. In a split second, Collin had tackled him to the ground, embraced in a hug.

"You're back! When did you get back? How was your adventure? Did you really save Hyr-"

Link began to laugh with a large smile on his face. "It's good to see you too."

"Oh, come and see everybody! They will all be so happy to see you. Especially Ilia, she hasn't stopped talking about you since you left." Collin said, dragging link along with a mischievous smile on his face.

Link smiled a little. He was excited to see his best friend. _I hope she hasn't changed very much,_ Link said to himself. He cherished the friendship he had with her.

"Links back everybody! Dad! Mom! Link is back!" Collin went yelling excitedly throughout the village. Soon everybody had swarmed around Link. Welcoming him back and asking about the adventure.

After scanning through the growing crowd, Link finally made eye contact with Ilia. She cut through Rusl and Uli and jumped on Link, hugging him.

Ilia looked into Link's deep blue eyes. She could get lost in those eyes. After hearing a light chuckle from the crowd, she let go of him and stepped back awkwardly.

"Link, you must join us for dinner." She said, looking towards her father.

"Ah, yes! You must be hungry after your return home. Let us make a feast of it! A welcome home party for Link!" Mayor Bo stated with an excited smile. "Meet at my house in an hour, everybody bring some food. Link…" Bo smiled a little. "Go get cleaned up lad, you stink". Link laughed and turned back to his home.

Bo's sumo wrestling room was converted into a dining room for the event. Everybody brought a unique dish of food to share. Link got bombarded with questions, mostly from curious children. How was the adventure? What were some of the places he visited?

Link kept much of the harsh details to himself.

Slowly villagers got tired and departed. After a while, it was just Bo, Ilia and Link.

"So Link, what will you do now?" Bo asked inquisitively. "I'm sure you've become accustomed to living differently than here at Ordon."

Link nodded. "I don't think I will enjoy life here like I used to. I still have a craving for adventure. There is much I wish to do that I can't accomplish here at Ordon."

Link's words felt like a knife in Ilia's heart. She couldn't imagine him leaving again. "W-where will you go?"

The truth is, Link wasn't sure. He knew the kingdom was still in ruins and that he could assist in rebuilding. But he also wanted to see the world. There were legends of land to the west. He toyed with the idea of exploring that direction.

After a moment of consideration, he decided. "I think I will go to Hyrule castle," he said. "There is much to do to repair the kingdom that I would love to assist with. I plan to stay for the week and then depart."

Bo looked at him, with neither a happy nor sad expression. "We live a simple and quite boring life," he said with a laugh. "Not all of us had the chance to go out and see the world, but you do, so don't put that to waste."

Ilia was not so understanding. "Is this place not good enough for you, now that you went and saved Hyrule? Am I not?" Link flinched at her words.

Bo looked between the two over and over before deciding to leave them alone. "Ill uhh, be outside."

"Ilia, I-"

"You just got back, why don't you want to stay? It's been a year. You saved Hyrule and brought all of us back home safely. Why must you leave."

"Ilia, I crave something different. I want to do something else, something helpful to Hyrule".

"You are helpful here!" She yelled at him, "We need you here, Link."

"You guys have got through this year just fine without me."

"I haven't," She said with tears in her eyes.

Link put his hand over hers. "Ilia, ill come and visit. Nothing has or will change, you are still my best friend."

"Oh, god," She shoved him away. "You are unbelievable naive".

Ilia stormed off to her room before Link could respond. He confusedly walked out of the hose to catch Beth, Colin, Malo and Talo eavesdropping.

"Wow," Colin spoke first. "That was rude of her. You just got back!"

"For sure!" Malo and Talo quickly agreed.

Beth stomped her foot and turned to the three of them. "You all are just as naive as Link is. It's obvious she loves him."

Her words struck Link as he realized how dumb he had been. She did love him, and he turned a blind eye. He didn't feel the same, at least not anymore.

The next week went by quickly. He spent his time helping anybody with any issues. Plowing some fields, herding some goats, repairing some buildings. At one point he ended up hunting some wolves outside the village. Ilia didn't speak to him much. He felt bad and wanted to speak with her, to apologize for not feeling the same. She wasn't there when he departed for Hyrule castle. Colin was sad to see him go, but Link promised he would visit once or twice a month.

"We're holding you up to that promise Link, do come and visit," Bo said with a sad smile. "I'm sorry Ilia wasn't here. She didn't want to come."

"I understand. Please tell her I'm sorry and that I will miss her."

Link turned Epona around and went on his way to Hyrule; and possibly the lands beyond.


End file.
